This morning, the campaign season kicked into a higher gear – with a little more than three months to go till the primary — as the first major campaign forum of the season, sponsored by the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce-affiliated Alki Foundation, brought movers and shakers from the worlds of business and politics to the Washington Athletic Club. We will be covering the major citywide/countywide races here in the months ahead, so we went for a closeup look at participating candidates, and video to share with you. We’re breaking this story into two parts, four clips each – in this one, the one-minute opening pitches each Seattle Mayor candidate made. Four of the five who are officially running participated (Joe Mallahan wasn’t there). The top clip is James Donaldson; the next three, in order, are Michael McGinn, incumbent Greg Nickels, and Norman Sigler:
Each candidate’s name above is linked to his campaign website. This morning’s event also included a “lightning round” in which a yes/no question was asked and each candidate had to hold up a paddle showing his answer – one notable question regarding West Seattle concerns, “Do you support building park-ride garages in Seattle?” – McGinn and Nickels said no, Donaldson and Sigler said yes. In a separate story later tonight, we’ll have our clips of the four County Executive candidates who appeared. The Seattle Chamber’s photos from this morning are posted on its Flickr site; for a different style of as-it-happened coverage, see what we wrote via Twitter on our @wsblive account (which we use to cover live events like this, so as not to clutter our other streams) – our main Twitter account is @westseattleblog, and our automated feed of links to WSB stories is @westseattlenews.
Thanks to Alki’s David Hutchinson for sharing photos (top and bottom) of the National Day of Prayer gathering tonight at the Statue of Liberty Plaza — first time this event has been held since the plaza’s construction and dedication last year. (Following sentence and photo added 11:27 pm) Thanks to Sandi for sharing this photo of the Holy Rosary Children’s Choir singing at the Day of Prayer gathering:
Holy Rosary was among 10 local churches that participated in this event presented by the West Seattle Ministerial Association, and attendees weren’t deterred by the steadily gathering clouds:
Day after tomorrow, prepare for the peninsula to be swarmed by shoppers. 9 am to 3 pm this Saturday is the fabulous fifth annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day. Among the more than 180 sales you’ll find, from Alki Beach almost all the way to Seola Beach, are these alley/block sales (listed here with their official numbers on the map – which you can print from this downloadable 8-page PDF, or view in clickable Google Map format (NOT suitable for printing), where you can click on any number on the map – the order is roughly north to south, west to east – to see more about that sale):
#25 – Block sale: 47th between Stevens and Lander #55 – Block sale: 4000 & 4100 Block of Fauntleroy Way SW #83 – Alley sale between 37th/38th, Edmunds/Hudson #90 – Alley sale: 36th-37th, Dawson to Hudson #114 – Block sale: 6000 block 45th SW #130 – Croft Place Townhomes Block Sale – 6701 21st SW #174 – Block Sale – 9030 17th SW
Sellers are also invited to post extra info in the WSB Forums‘ Freebies/Deals/Sales section (where you are invited to post yard sales free, after this weekend, any time). And if you haven’t received your info/placard packet yet, check tomorrow’s mail – if it doesn’t arrive then, call us and we’ll deliver your placard ourselves. Sellers are invited to enter both the “most unusual item” and “most creative sign” contest; shoppers can enter the “most unusual item” contest too – we have restaurant gift certificates for the winners in both. Stay tuned for more here and at westseattlegaragesale.com tonight and tomorrow, plus continuous coverage on sale day (we’ll be running around to take pictures but you’re invited to send us a photo of your sale too, even before 9 am as you set up – editor@westseattleblog.com).
The mayor’s office just announced the draft Pedestrian Master Plan is officially available online — see it here. It includes various West Seattle projects such as the Alki Point sidewalk extension that’s being built right now, plus facts and figures (numbers on this page include: 2,256 miles of sidewalks in Seattle) and maps you can use to see how West Seattle stacks up (here’s the “potential pedestrian demand” map). You can give the city your comments (here’s how) through June 15, and a public hearing is planned June 21, before council action later in the year.
From just southwest of The Junction, Bille-mailed in hopes that you might be able to help solve this crime:
I’d like to report a hit and run on the corner of Erskine Way SW and SW Dawson that happened (last night). The hit vehicle, a 2002 Saturn Vue, was parked in front of my house.
… My vehicle was hit from behind on the driver’s side. The bumper and tailgate was damaged and the tailpipe is broken. No paint was left but the damage to the other vehicle would have to have been to the front passenger side.
… Just one other note, a neighbor just told me that the hit and run occurred at 9:05 PM last night as he heard a “crash” but he was not able to get to his window in time to see the vehicle.
If anybody (else) saw or heard anything I’d sure appreciate it if they step forward.
He did call police, and reports a “cordial and professional” officer responded: “She collected evidence which included what looked like a signal light casing and it had a part number. She is going to try to trace the number.”
When we hiked part of the West Duwamish Greenbelt last year with Nancy Whitlock of the Youngstown Arts Center-based Nature Consortium, we recorded that video as she explained what she jokingly called a “native street-pole” along the way, telling the story of how part of the greenbelt almost became a highway. It’s still technically city right of way, but a “street vacation petition” detailed in today’s Land Use Information Bulletin seeks to transfer it to the Parks Department to recognize the fact that it will never be used for that purpose. As the online notice explains:
The City purchased the Soundway property in the 1950s and 1960s for a bridge and roadway project linking Seattle to Vashon Island. The property was “laid off” for street purposes but the project was cancelled. Since then a number of options were considered for the use of the property and the City Council decided it should be converted to protected open space under the jurisdiction of Parks. Parks is seeking the vacation in order to manage the property as a part of the adjacent West Duwamish Greenbelt. The vacation will allow the department to provide management of the property consistent with Park policies and allow Parks to seek State grants from the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development for open space preservation. There is no development project associated with this petition. The property will remain in a natural and undeveloped state and the land will be incorporated into the existing West Duwamish Greenbelt.
As we reported last month, the Seattle International Film Festival is coming to West Seattle for the first time, with films at the Admiral TheaterJune 5th-11th. The schedule’s been made public today; see it here — note that the list of 25 movies includes, appropriately enough, one called “The Admiral.” The SIFF citywide box office is now open; this page explains how to get tickets.
(Photo added 11:57 am – SDOT director Grace Crunican and Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis)
We’re in the briefing room on the 7th floor of City Hall, summoned along with the rest of the media for a “transportation personnel announcement” to be made any moment by Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis and Transportation Director Grace Crunican (both West Seattleites, incidentally). Stand by.
11:07 AM: The mayor himself popped in. He says changes are being made to fix an “unhealthy and divisive atmosphere” in SDOT’s street maintenance division. He mentioned last year’s snow woes, but this apparently goes beyond that. A new street maintenance director has been named, the mayor announced. Ceis and Crunican now are briefing us on details. Looking at some of the documentation that’s been distributed, it’s not just snow-related – the first documents say the city has investigated “15 charges of employment discrimination by SDOT employees over the past year.” Crunican says “there was a disproportionate amount of discipline affecting minorities,” uncovered by a report ordered from a law firm (long before the snowstorm, by the way – the investigation’s “letter of engagement” is dated June 2007). The employment discrimination claims appear to date back as far as 2005. Crunican says former street maintenance director Paul Jackson asked to be transferred, feeling he had “become a distraction” during the investigation, and Charlie Bookman is now its interim director. They also are bringing in a consultant to look at the organization “and see what other changes can be done,” she says.
Click ahead for continuing coverage from the briefing:Read More
The tunnel may be a mostly done deal but that’s only part of the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s future — even as some work is under way, like the 1st Avenue So. demolition in the photo above, a new round of talking about the Viaduct’s future has just begun. We brought you quick toplines yesterday afternoon about the new “working groups,” including the West Seattle-relevant South Portal group that has just convened – read on for details of who they are, what they heard about and saw, and what’s next:Read More
First of our reports from last night’s meeting of the Southwest District Council (WSB sponsor) — more progress in the final stage of transforming the grassy site on the northwest corner of 42nd/Alaska into Junction Plaza Park. Erica Karlovits of the Junction Neighborhood Association and Susan Melrose of the West Seattle Junction Association had updates for the SWDC: First, Friends of Junction Plaza Park has applied for $98,000 in city matching-funds money, and has submitted commitments of $98,000 in donated money and time as the potential match, with more than 155 organizations and individuals represented among the pledges. The long-in-the-works park project needs $350,000 total for completion. It is one of two “large projects” submitted from the Southwest District for city grant consideration – the other is the Duwamish Longhouse Ecological Arts Project, seeking $100,000. If all the funding is secured, park construction could start this fall and be done by year’s end. There’s talk of a potential park-fundraiser beer garden in the park area during West Seattle Summer Fest, which is coming up July 10-12. If you want to help with the Junction Plaza Park effort, contact info is on the official website at friendsofjunctionplazapark.org. (Previous coverage of the park-development effort is archived here, newest to oldest.)
Sorry we didn’t have information while it was happening, but we now have messages out to police to ask what was up – literally and figuratively – with the helicopter search that several people have reported hearing over eastern West Seattle in the 2-3 am vicinity this morning. Will add information here as soon as we have it. 7:20 AM UPDATE: Just spoke with Officer Renee Witt in the Seattle Police media unit. She says two calls brought significant officer response to West Seattle early this morning, though it looks like the second call is the one that brought out the helicopter. First, there was a business burglary in the 6000 block of 35th SW; Officer Witt says a door was kicked in, a K-9 team joined the search, and the report indicates that some suspects were arrested. (We hope to get more on that later.) Second, there was a call from the same address involved in the SWAT team response weekend before last; the caller reported seeing a suspicious vehicle in the area. That’s what Officer Witt says brought out Guardian 1 – the King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter that is also used to assist Seattle Police when necessary – though ultimately police believe the call may have been false. No arrests in that one, though there was an aid response to the same vicinity around 5 am today – no word yet if it was related. 9:58 AM UPDATE: And we have MORE information now – directly from the Southwest Precinct. Just spoke with Sgt. Jeff Durden, who says that Guardian One WAS deployed for the aforementioned business burglary, and here are more details on that: The business hit around 2 am was the convenience store in the 6300 block of 35th. According to Sgt. Durden, “three to four males were seen kicking in the door … and throwing items out of it.” Responding officers set up containment, called in K-9 and the helicopter, and eventually two suspects were arrested, a 17-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man, and officers “recovered bags full of merchandise from the store.”
(Photo courtesy the mayor’s office)
That’s Mayor Nickels meeting with local letter carriers in Wallingford to help get the word out about this Saturday’s annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive – the most convenient food drive of the year, since it comes right to your house. You may have gotten the special blue plastic bag with your mail already, but if you didn’t, you can use any sort of regular grocery bag too; just fill it with nonperishable food items and put it by your mailbox (or your door, if that’s where you get your mail) on Saturday morning, before your mail delivery, so your letter carrier can pick it up. Once the pickups have been happened and letter carriers have transported the food back to participating post-office sites, with volunteers’ help, Food Lifeline gets the donations and distributes them to local food banks – both food banks that serve our area, the West Seattle Food Bank and the White Center Food Bank, will benefit from what’s donated around here. So before you hit the road to shop during West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (maps and updates here) – or if you’re selling, before your shoppers start arriving – put out something for this more-important-than-ever cause. Here’s more information about this nationwide food drive.
By Jonathan Stumpf
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
About thirty people attended the Parks Levy open house at West Seattle Golf Course tonight. This function was the second of four events the city Parks and Recreation Department is hosting to explain what’s planned for the voter-approved levy money, and listen to concerns and ideas.
Tonight’s 20-minute presentation was followed by a 45-minute question-and-answer session, during which residents voiced concerns about myriad issues within the $146 million, 53-project, six-year levy, from maintenance issues to environmental concerns.
Remember that sunny scene when the renamed King County Water Taxi kicked off the 2009 season a month ago? Despite subsequent bouts of stormy weather, the West Seattle-to-downtown foot ferry carried 20,361 passengers during its first month, according to numbers made public today by King County Council/King County Ferry District Board Chair Dow Constantine, who said, “These numbers bode well for a successful move to year-round Water Taxi operation next year.” More numbers: 663 riders on the average weekday, 911 on the average Saturday, 1,406 on the average Sunday (including April 5, when 3,429 people took advantage of all-day freebies). This year’s season is scheduled to run through October, and Seacrest dock improvements — to facilitate year-round operation starting next year — are planned for the off-season after that.
We’ve received a few notes asking what caused the traffic trouble near Highway 509, just east of West Seattle/White Center, this afternoon. SPDBlotter has published a report about the pickup-vs.-car crash that closed the road; police say the pickup’s 52-year-old driver wasn’t hurt, but the car’s 16-year-old driver suffered major injuries.
1 AM UPDATE: From comments —
I am a family friend of the 16 yr old girl. I have spent the entire evening at the ER with the family & other friends. Doctors say she was thrown from her car. She is lucky to be alive! She was in surgery for many hours and in radiation, in hopes to stop all of the internal bleeding, for many hours. She has many holes in various organs, broken bones, & her pelvis was crushed open like a book, etc… She is under extremely close supervision. She has many surgeons on hand & she has a very difficult road ahead of her. They are watching for any brain damage & more internal bleeding very closely. She will have to go thru many more surgeries. There were/are a very large gathering of family and friends at the hospital for her who all love her very much! We are all praying for a successful recovery. We hope all surgeries go well & she will soon be able to walk again. She is a very beautiful & intelligent young lady! Please help us pray for a strong recovery!
Though the meeting was held at Delridge Library as usual, much of the attention at tonight’s North Delridge Neighborhood Council meeting was focused north, on future projects at the Delridge Community Center playground and park grounds. First, the plan we’ve been telling you about to build a new playground there, with the help of KaBoom; the times are now set for the park-designing session that Betsy Hoffmeisterannounced Monday — 4 till 8:30 pm next Tuesday (May 12) at DCC. Child-care provided; the schedule is: Kids’ meeting 4-5 pm; spaghetti dinner 5-5:30 pm; adults’ meeting 5:30-8:30 pm. Betsy said at tonight’s meeting that she’s looking for volunteers to work on the playground July 17th; it would open the following week, after the cement cures. As also mentioned in our Monday report, $4,000 is needed to match money that KaBoom has put up, and some brainstorming went on tonight, including the idea of a plant sale at Delridge Day on May 30th. Also discussed tonight, the future Delridge Skatepark (planned for the northeast side of the park grounds), which as reported here two weeks ago, now may be in line for funding after all, since other city projects are coming in under budget. As a result of tonight’s discussion, Nancy Folsom is getting a letter of support from NDNC to take to next Monday night’s Skatepark Advisory Committee meeting, showing the city that the neighborhood supports the skatepark. It seems there’s some potential dissonance right now between what’s possible size-wise and maybe even big-picture-money-wise and what the city is looking at, according to this report by West Seattle skating advocate Matthew Lee Johnston at seattleskateparks.org.; he’s also planning to advocate for Delridge at Monday’s meeting, which is at 7 pm at Parks Department HQ downtown (map), public welcome.
Thanks to the Junction-area resident who sent that photo taken within the past half-hour or so – more traces of the WaMu/Chase bank change, in this case, outside the 44th/Edmunds drive-thru. Some signage has changed inside local branches, but till now, exterior signage hasn’t. Also happening tonight – three meetings we’re covering around West Seattle, including the Parks Levy presentation/discussion at the West Seattle Golf Course:
Good turnout, as you can see; thanks to Sharonn Meeks for sending the photo – reporter Jonathan Stumpf is there for WSB and we’ll have his full report later.
SKILLET: In case you wondered what was up with the ongoing Skillet Street Food saga as the weekend approaches … such as, will they be back in the Seattle Lutheran High School parking lot for a second consecutive week? … first we checked Skillet’s website, and took note that it says Skillet’s looking for West Seattle locations (and hiring cooks, if you’re looking for work). However, upon subsequent check with Skillet proprietor Josh Henderson, he told us this morning: “We are on at SLHS for the next 4 weeks…and will view that as a trial period and review with (SLHS leadership, afterward).” 11 am-2 pm Sunday, this week’s menu here.
SKYLARK CAFE AND CLUB: This WSB sponsor will donate a portion of Mother’s Day brunch proceeds to the breast-cancer-fighting 3Day Walk, through Team Tracy, supporting West Seattle breast-cancer patient Tracy Dart (who says Skylark proprietor Jessie SK is on the team too). More about Skylark at skylarkcafe.com.
CAFE REVO: This WSB sponsor is opening an hour early for Mother’s Day (11 am), and taking reservations now; more about Cafe Revo is online at caferevo.com.
BLUE WILLOW: This Junction eatery and catering facility is offering high tea on Sunday; call 206-938-0988 to see what openings remain.
THE BOHEMIAN: It’s offering Mother’s Day tea the day before the big day – 2 pm-4 pm (maybe after shopping West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day with Mom?) – in conjunction with Tracy of Tea Gallery fame – 938-2646 is the number for mandatory reservations.
One day after we first told you about the death of 27-year-old West Seattleite Jill St. Onge while vacationing in Thailand, an overseas newspaper says there is a new theory: Instead of possible food poisoning as reported yesterday, Ms. St. Onge’s fiance Ryan Kells is quoted as saying he suspects chemical fumes from a nearby water treatment plant; the Andaman Times also says a Norwegian news outlet reports cyanide was found in the body of a 22-year-old Norwegian woman who also died in the area, reportedly after having stayed at the same guest house as Ms. St. Onge. The Andaman Times also has editorialized that more coverage is needed of what happened to the two women; here’s their editorial, with additional photos of Ms. St. Onge. Back here in West Seattle, KIRO TV has picked up on the story (their live truck was sighted near Ms. St. Onge’s workplace, Shadow Land, which is where we took the photo at left, during Junction trick-or-treating last October) and tells us they’ll have a report tonight at 6; we’ll add the link here when their story’s online. 7:12 PM: Here’s the link to KIRO’s story.
If you haven’t seen this already on the Crime Watch page, which automatically picks up updates from the SPDBlotter site – Seattle Police arrested two 13-year-old suspects running from a burglary scene in Highland Park (1400 block of SW Trenton; here’s a map) this morning; here’s the police writeup.
We’re on the 9th floor of the Silver Cloud Inn by Safeco Field, where a new round of Alaskan Way Viaduct construction-related meetings is kicking off – one of three new “stakeholder”-type groups that will be involved in the next phase of The Viaduct’s evolution is meeting for the first time. Members include two West Seattle community leaders who were on the previous Stakeholders Advisory Group, Vlad Oustimovitch and Pete Spalding; there’s also a West Seattle Chamber of Commerce rep, Jerome Cohen, among the 22 total members of this “working group.” Executives from the four agencies involved in the process are starting the meeting — state, city, county, and Port of Seattle. We’ll add notes if/when anything big is announced, and a summary later. (The three groups’ meeting schedule can be found here.) 5:37 PM UPDATE: One West Seattle-relevant revelation: The Delridge RapidRide route that was written into many Viaduct scenario sketches is NOT likely to happen any time soon, per Ron Posthuma of King County Department of Transportation, responding to a question from Spalding: He says the money’s not there, not until “the economy comes back and the sales tax money starts flowing again.” The originally planned West Seattle RapidRide route, though, has been described here as fairly safe, despite Metro’s overall $ woes.
Just talked with King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. John Urquhart to get the latest on the case of a woman brought, dead, to the sidewalk outside Roxbury Safeway yesterday afternoon (original WSB story here). First: We don’t know her name, but we know the woman was 46 years old. Investigators have concluded that she was not brought from any sort of “homeless camp” after all – instead, it turns out, she had been in a trailer parked on the street nearby. She is believed to have been a transient, as are the two men who carried her to the store, one of whom stayed to wait for authorities, while, according to Sgt. Urquhart, the other one “ran off.” He says they specifically brought her to the area outside the store where there’s a pay phone, so they could call 911. There is no evidence of foul play, though the cause of death hasn’t been announced yet, pending autopsy results, so unless the autopsy reveals something unexpected, Sgt. Urquhart says, KCSO is not investigating further.
Day after tomorrow, prepare for the peninsula to be swarmed by shoppers. 9 am to 3 pm this Saturday is the fabulous fifth annual 
As we reported last month, the Seattle International Film Festival is coming to West Seattle for the first time, with films at the 
Sorry we didn’t have information while it was happening, but we now have messages out to police to ask what was up – literally and figuratively – with the helicopter search that several people have reported hearing over eastern West Seattle in the 2-3 am vicinity this morning. Will add information here as soon as we have it. 7:20 AM UPDATE: Just spoke with Officer Renee Witt in the Seattle Police media unit. She says two calls brought significant officer response to West Seattle early this morning, though it looks like the second call is the one that brought out the helicopter. First, there was a business burglary in the 6000 block of 35th SW; Officer Witt says a door was kicked in, a K-9 team joined the search, and the report indicates that some suspects were arrested. (We hope to get more on that later.) Second, there was a call from the same address involved in 
SKILLET: In case you wondered what was up with the ongoing 
One day after 
If you haven’t seen this already on the Crime Watch page, which automatically picks up updates from the SPDBlotter site – 
Just talked with
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